Does India need a population policy

Source– The post is based on the article “Does India need a population policy” published in The Hindu on 14th October 2022.

Syllabus: GS1- Human geography. GS2- Government policies

Relevance–  Demography and related issues

News- The article explains the need for a new approach to population related issues. It also explains whether we need a new population policy.

United Nations data shows that India would surpass China as the world’s most populous country by 2023. According to the 2018-19 Economic Survey, India’s demographic dividend will peak around 2041.

What should be our approach to population related issues?

We need to move from a family planning approach to a family welfare approach. The focus should be on empowering men and women to make informed choices about their fertility, health and well-being.

Focus should be upon productivity of the population. Economic planning that ensures good jobs, agriculture productivity is the way ahead.

Is automation a solution to the negative economic effects of an ageing population?

Estimates show that 12% of India’s total population by 2025 is going to be the elderly. Every fifth Indian by 2050 will be over the age of 65.

Automation makes a big difference to the productivity of individuals. However, it doesn’t replace

human nature and human touch. Automation does not provide the emotional warmth and security that family members provide to each other. We need to figure out how to address ageing in the context of changing families and the nature of state support in India.

What is need to tap into increasing young population.

We have the capacity to tap into the potential of our youth population.

We need to invest in adolescent well-being, if we want to reap the benefits of demographic dividend. Skilling and education of our large adolescent population can ensure their well being.

We need to address the effects of pandemic on the lives of adolescents and youths.

What are the implications of declining fertility rates?

It has dropped below the replacement level of 2.1

We need to recognise the gender dimension of some of these challenges. Fertility decline has tremendous gender implications. Ageing is also a gender issue as two-thirds of the elderly are women, because women tend to live longer than men do.

We need to improve employment opportunities for young women and increase the female employment rate. Elderly women need economic and social support networks.

We need to think about its implications for the political economy. In four other States, it has not declined much as compared to others. The future of India lies in the youth living in U.P., Bihar, M.P. We need to support these States in ensuring that their young people are available to the labour market and have sufficient skills. Otherwise, it will become an economic liability.

Do we need a population policy?

India has a very good population policy designed in 2000. States also have their population policies. We just need to add ageing to our population policy focus.

There is a need for more investments in family planning and overall investment in population.

We need a policy that supports reproductive health for individuals.

Discourse around population policy should be changed. Population control still remains a part of our dialogue. We need a policy that enhances population as resources for India’s development. We need to move away from the focus on the two-child norm. The two-child norm indicates a coercive approach to primarily one community.